Data centers have an impact on economic growth. A new report commissioned by the Data Center Coalition (DCC) from PwC found that between 2017 and 2021, data centers increased the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $2.1 trillion through direct, indirect, and induced effects over the past five years.
PwC stated that the industry has become a catalyst for economic growth and has had a positive impact on several other aspects of the US economy, including employment, labor income, and tax contributions to federal, state, and local governments.
In his study ‘Economic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of Data Centers in the United States’, direct employment in the US data center industry increased by 17% from 2017 to 2021. In contrast, the overall employment growth in the United States during the same period was only 2%. PwC pointed out that due to direct, indirect, and induced impacts, the data center industry made significant tax contributions to federal, state, and local governments from 2017 to 2021, totaling $403.5 billion.
In addition, the data center industry is increasingly contributing to the economy, with its total contribution to US government revenue at the federal, state, and local levels increasing by 50% between 2017 and 2021. PwC analyzed the economic, environmental, and social impacts of the data center industry in the United States from 2017 to 2021. This assessment spans the national level and three specific states – Arizona, Ohio, and Virginia – chosen because of their importance to the data center industry and different market sizes. This report further investigates the contribution of the industry to the environment and society through a survey of DCC members.
Allison Gilmore, Vice President of DCC responsible for the organization’s research program, said: The demand for digital services from individuals and organizations of all sizes and industries is unprecedented, including telemedicine, video conferencing, e-commerce, government services, education, and entertainment. As a result of this demand, the data center industry is rapidly growing. This report shows that the benefits provided by the data center industry far exceed meeting the growing digital data needs of our daily lives. Data centers are now essential Infrastructure has driven the development of modern digital economy.
The proliferation of data centers has had various impacts on American communities: meeting consumer and business data needs, and driving environmental efforts. Data center suppliers have promised to purchase clean energy and invested heavily in introducing new clean energy solutions into the power grid, accelerating the transformation of clean energy and making the industry one of the largest buyers of sustainable electricity in the United States.

In addition, data center companies nationwide in the United States are actively investing in local communities, supporting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education and labor development projects, providing volunteer services to community organizations, strengthening connectivity in rural areas, and carrying out various other beneficial initiatives.